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Mateo grinned. “We weren’t one hundred percent sure it’d work, though, not until that night in your club when you attacked Manny for touching her. That was when I really knew the plan was foolproof. Happy coincidence she was there and allowed us to really put the plan into action,” he chimed in proudly. “Alberto didn’t want any part of it, though—he never did—he said we were to leave you alone. You kind of did me a favor getting him banged up, we always had a difference of opinion on the direction of our business. He was happy to take the scraps you left for us, I wasn’t.”
Ellie continued to thrash in his arms, her tied hands coming up to rake at Ed’s face. He grunted, pushing her hands off, and brought up his gun, pressing it against her forehead, his eyes flashing with anger. “Make one more fucking move and I’ll decide you’re no longer useful,” he goaded her.
My temper was rising again; I was barely in control of it as I stepped forward, ignoring the four guns trained on me. “Get your fucking gun out of her face,” I ordered. My hand was shaking, but not from fear or anything like that—it was the anger pulsing through my fingers. If he made one wrong move, I was putting a bullet in his brain. He’d be dead before he even knew what happened.
Ed’s eye twitched, but he didn’t look away from Ellie, who had stilled and gone rigid. “I wonder what her pretty face will look like after,” he mused, pressing the gun harder against her head, causing her to whimper and shy away. I groaned in frustration. I didn’t have the upper hand here, not yet. “Take one step closer, Kid, and we’ll all find out,” Ed reasoned.
I clenched my jaw, staying stock-still. “Ed, what happened to you? How did you become the person that would kill an innocent girl just to get what he wanted?” I’d never liked Ed; he’d always been a self-serving bastard, but I hadn’t seen this coming. He was never this far gone; he’d gone power crazy. I could see it in his eyes; he would kill her in a heartbeat to get what he wanted. That look terrified me to the core.
“Get on your knees,” he ordered me, his gun not leaving Ellie’s face.
I swallowed awkwardly, a lump forming in my throat as my eyes met Ellie’s. She made a muffled protest, and I could see the anguish and pain in her eyes as they silently begged me for reassurances I just couldn’t give her. I mentally calculated the odds of being able to take down all of them before one of them tagged Ellie or me. Pretty slim. But then a bright glint from on top of the container off to my right caught my attention—it was there one second and gone the next—and my heart stuttered in my chest. That pretty slim chance had suddenly grown tenfold.
I smiled weakly at Ellie and then nodded in acknowledgment of Ed’s order, holding my hands up as I slowly lowered myself to my knees on the dirt, trying to look defeated when in reality I was preparing myself to fight for both our lives.
CHAPTER 28
ED’S EXPRESSION WAS one of untamed glee as he looked down at me on my knees, his gun finally leaving Ellie’s face. “Never thought I’d see Kid Cole on his knees begging for mercy. This is a sight I’ll enjoy for the rest of my life.”
However short it is, I thought, fighting a knowing smile.
Of course I hadn’t come alone. I wasn’t a freaking moron. Had they really thought I was stupid enough to believe that they would let Ellie go if I behaved like a good boy?
I just prayed that my plan worked how it was supposed to and that Ellie didn’t get caught in the cross fire. At least this way she had a chance.
The light signal from moments ago meant Ray was exactly where he needed to be, and Dodger’s distraction should be coming any second, just as we’d planned.
I glanced over at Ellie. Tears clung to her eyelashes; she looked so defeated, so devastated that it hurt my heart. All I could do was look back at her and silently will her to get ready for anything.
“Put your guns down on the ground. Slowly!” Ed ordered, his gun now coming around to point at me.
I lowered my weapons to the ground as slowly as humanly possible without making it obvious I was stalling. Where is the fucking distraction? Come on, Dodge!
Suddenly, behind me, an explosion boomed from just inside the compound. Everyone looked up, shocked, as bits of debris and dust blew toward us, knocking everyone off-balance for a second. I turned to see black smoke billow into the air, swirling up into the sky.
I fought a smile as Mateo cursed in Spanish and then sent two of his men off to see what had happened. Ed’s gun was firmly pointed at my head, so I didn’t dare move. I held my breath, willing Ray to intercede.
Ed’s finger twitched on the trigger, and two things happened at once: an incredibly loud gunshot came from the top of the container on my right, and Ed’s hand changed into a gory, pulpy mess as the rifle bullet tore through his wrist. Ed’s scream was high-pitched and agonizing as his gun fell to the ground, and his gaze dropped down to the oozing, bloody mess where his hand used to be.
I didn’t have time to sit around and watch. Diving forward, I picked up one of my guns and snapped my head up, seeing that Mateo had wrapped his arm around Ellie’s throat as he yanked her toward him, using her body for cover. I squeezed one eye shut, aiming my gun, willing it to find its small target, the only exposed place on his body, as I squeezed the trigger.
The gun recoiled in my hand a little as the bullet shot out, flying through the air and ripping into Mateo’s knee. He screamed out in pain, his grip on Ellie not loosening as he staggered back, bringing her with him.
Ellie’s nose crinkled with determination, and she jabbed her elbow into Mateo’s stomach while he was distracted, and my chest swelled with pride. Mateo groaned, half stepping to the left—and that was all I needed. I fired another time, this bullet ripping through his shoulder.
He fell backward, dragging Ellie with him, and they both smacked into the ground.
My breath caught, hoping she h
adn’t been hurt. But then she wriggled free of his grip and got to all fours, her eyes connecting with mine.
“Run!” I shouted. “Ellie, run, now!” She struggled to push herself up with her tied hands, finally getting to her feet only to stumble and fall again.
I caught a movement in my peripheral vision and snapped my head to find one of the Salazar crew standing ten feet from me, his gun aimed at my chest. I dived to the side, firing as I fell through the air. His bullets hit the ground where I had been milliseconds before. My shot smashed him square in the chest. His eyes widened and he looked down at the wound, blood gurgling from his mouth as he sank to his knees, then flopped face-first onto the dusty ground.
I blinked a couple of times, turned to see that Ellie was back on her feet now and running with a distinct limp toward the containers over on the left. I smiled in relief, but then saw Ed holding a shining silver blade in his good hand. His eyes were ferocious as he lunged at me. The blade slashed through the air, a breeze whipping past my face as I pulled my head back just in time.
As Ed lunged again, I kicked out, my toe connecting with his side. He grunted and doubled over just enough that I could throw my arm up and smash my gun directly into his face. The crunch was incredibly satisfying as his nose gushed with blood and his eyes became unfocused. The knife dropped from his hand as his body went slack, falling face-first into the ground, sending up a plume of dust around me. I fumbled in the dirt, picking up his knife in case he came to.
As I got to my feet, waving my hand to clear the dust, I could hear the sounds of a struggle around me. I looked up, seeing Dodger fighting hand to hand with one of the Salazar crew. In the distance, I could hear two people shouting in Spanish, probably the two who went to investigate the explosion now hurrying back to join the chaos. But then Ray was on the case, sending a rifle shot cracking through the air.
I looked around desperately for Ellie, not seeing her anywhere. I did see Mateo pushing himself up to a sitting position. Blood covered his chest and face, making him look like an extra from a horror movie.
His hand fumbled for something at his side and then closed around his gun, raising it, pointing it at Dodger, who was still wrestling with the other crew member.
I realized too late that my right hand held the knife instead of a gun. I didn’t have time to think; I pulled back my arm and threw it as hard as I could, praying that my target throwing with the dartboard would pay off. The knife was big and heavy and unlike
